GQ Playlist: Max Cooper

An exclusive mix for GQ ahead of his monsoon tour – and it's free to download!

Gig goers in Mumbai and Pune woefully predicted that with the advent of the dreaded monsoon, their gig calendar for the next two months would be relatively empty. Companies like Lucid and Ace:Accentuating Events proved them wrong by introducing a property called Space – a series of six gigs, over a span of three months. Their roster includes international names like Dirty Audio, Liar, CloZee, Bakermat. The first gig of this season features UK-based producer Max Cooper.

Once a PhD geneticist, now a prolific Techno DJ/producer, Cooper has had no formal training in music. It is his relentless passion for DJ-ing that has helped him produce over 50 original releases – some of which have been charted in Beatport and BBC Radio 1. His debut EP Harmonisch Series on Traum garnered the most visibility for him as a musician. Cooper’s discography includes remixes of tracks from indie heavyweights like ‘Au Revoir Simone’ and ‘Hot Chip’, and he is the first musician who was allowed to rework the music of legendary movie-score composer Michael Nyman.

While music and its creation is based in emotion, it is in fact a mathematical relationship between scales, keys, octaves, and how they interrelate, progress and formulate music. Cooper’s training as a student of science helps him balance this blend of empirical science and musical sensitivity. Melodic and gentle, yet uplifting, Cooper’s music boasts a distinct narrative.